Illinois Stewardship
Alliance
  
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Newsletter -- March 2008
ISA Welcomes New Executive Director
We are pleased to announce that Patrick McGarry is the new Executive Director for ISA, taking over for Gayle Keiser who is leaving to finish her book. Pat has a background in Public Health and comes from the Illinois Tobacco Free Communities Program with the Department of Public Health. He is also a backyard organic gardener. He can be reached at the ISA office or at patrick@illinoisstewardshipalliance.org.
In order to identify community members’ concerns about the local food system, showcase local food initiatives and plan for action, ISA invited community members to participate in a Local Food Forum on March 6 in Springfield. About 40 people shared why local foods are important to them. Concern for nutrition topped the list followed by the environment, economy, community and safety. Additionally, consumer awareness was identified as the biggest obstacle to increasing the supply of fresh, healthy local foods followed by seasonal availability and lack of infrastructure. As a result of the forum, great ideas were generated about how to address some of the barriers. Promoting year-round production for growers, offering consumers ‘Buy Local’ stickers for a quick and easy way to tell restaurants to support local producers and including local foods in existing nutrition programs were a few ideas to help increase access to delicious and nutritious locally grown foods. Would your community benefit from a Local Food Forum? Would you like to gather various stakeholders to discuss your community food supply? Is it time to evaluate the barriers and opportunities to developing the local food system? ISA can help! We can offer assistance with preparing for the meeting, planning objectives, creating evaluation tools and presenting information. For more information contact Lindsay at Lindsay@illinoisstewardshipalliance.org or (217) 498-9707.
The President’s budget proposal is not kind to sustainable agriculture programs, and we need Congress and the Senate to step up to the plate. Programs in jeopardy include SARE (Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education), ATTRA (Appropriate Technology Transfer for Rural Areas), and the Outreach and Assistance Program for Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers. Sustainable agriculture programs such as these have been threatened countless times before. It is only because supporters have called and written their legislators that these programs continue, and we need to show our support by March 21. Senator Dick Durbin and Congressman Jesse Jackson have influence as members of the Agricultural Appropriations Subcommittee, and have supported these programs in the past. But they need to know that Illinoisans care about these programs and want to see them continue.
It’s easy to write or call. Below are Senator Durbin’s
and Congressman Jackson’s addresses, fax and phone numbers.
Simple letters in your own words are best. (Faxing to Congress
is more reliable than The Honorable Jesse Jackson • Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program. This efficient competitive grants program funds farmer-driven research, education, and extension to develop profitable, environmentally sound farming systems. Since 1988, farmers and others have received 64 SARE grants exceeding $1.4 million, helping farmers statewide explore ways to produce, market and distribute their crops and livestock using profitable, environmentally and socially sound practices. President Bush proposes cutting SARE by more than 32% for FY09! Click here for key points on SARE. • Appropriate Technology Transfer for Rural Areas (ATTRA) program. This highly rated national information service answers practical questions from farmers and others who call its 1-800 telephone number, get help from its website, or attend its workshops. President Bush proposes zero funding for the program in FY09! Click here for key points on ATTRA. • The “Section 2501” Outreach and Assistance Program for Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers at $10 million helps small and minority farmers access USDA’s credit, commodity, conservation and other programs. President Bush’s budget proposes funding at $6.9 million, an increase over its current $6.4, but far short of what’s needed to expand the number of counties where thousands of small and socially disadvantaged farmers can profit from training and outreach. Click here for key talking points on the Section 2501 program.
Biogas and Biomass Energy Grants are
available through the Illinois Department of Commerce and
Economic Opportunity. The focus of these grants are to
demonstrate the use of biogas and biomass for on-site energy
generation at facilities in Also, Value-Added Producer Grant applications and Farmers Market Promotion Program applications are still open: Value-Added Producer Grants applications are available to farmers, coops, and producer-based businesses for working capital for marketing value-added products and farm-based renewable energy. Deadline is March 31. More info here. Also, the misnamed Farmers Market Promotion Program is now accepting applications. It’s misnamed because it’s not just for farmers markets, but direct marketing of all kinds including CSAs and roadside stands. Deadline is March 24. More info here.
Over 143 million pounds of beef has been recalled, and much of it is believed to
already been consumed. Where do you get your meat?
"The most important thing is knowing where your food comes from,” says Next time you’re in the grocery store, read the label on packaged meat and look for the information that is not included. How was the animal treated? What was it fed? Compare this to buying meat from  Bowman raises grass fed beef – what cattle have evolved to eat. Even in the winter the cattle eat stored hay harvested from his farm. Bowman believes this makes his meat safer, since what cattle are fed increases or decreases the potential for dangerous bacteria levels, such as E. coli, in processed meat. Feedlot food, he says, is not what cows naturally would eat. "The bacteria and little bugs that live in their stomachs live at a certain pH in a certain environment, and changing what they eat changes those conditions." Bowman also believes that pasture raised meats are healthier, tastier, more nutritious, more 
humane and environmentally responsible. His customers can see that for
themselves when they come out to his farm to buy meat. By walking around his
farm filled with cattle, horses, sheep, goats and chickens, his customers know
exactly what they are buying. And if they have any further questions, they can
ask him directly when they are sitting in his living room choosing what they
want from his long list of products.This is a perfect example of a transparent system, and is far removed from the feedlot cattle from Westland/Hallmark Meat Company, where employees used forklifts and electric shocks to process sick animals for meat. The story only came to light from an undercover video taken at the processing plant. For more information on the Sangamon Valley Cattle Company, go to: http://www.svgrassfedbeef.com/. To find where to buy food directly from farmers near you, go to: http://www.illinoisfarmdirect.org/.
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